


I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul

by RebeccaAnabelBurrows



Series: A Study in Soulbonds (Unrelated Works) [6]
Category: DCU, Justice League - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, M/M, Prophecy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24326470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebeccaAnabelBurrows/pseuds/RebeccaAnabelBurrows
Summary: Title from the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley.Hal had his soul prophecy delivered to him when he was 10, as customary. It was supposed to be a hint about his future soulmate. It was not supposed to be a bad omen.--He didn’t say his words to his parents, just invented some. Something about honey scented fields and birds and songs. “I think she’ll be a musician.” he had said, insisting on the “she” part.And yet, despite everything, Hal felt the desire to know his ill-fated soulmate.
Relationships: Barry Allen & Hal Jordan, Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: A Study in Soulbonds (Unrelated Works) [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687879
Comments: 10
Kudos: 182





	I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul

When human children turned ten, they were sent to the local soothsayer to inquire about their soulmates. 

Some refused to go, and only a portion of them would come find the soothsayer a few years later, sometimes because of peer pressure. Most had their soul prophecy read at some point.  
It was frowned upon to not have your “soul prophecy” delivered. 

When Hal had sat, alone - his parents were waiting for him outside -, on a chair in Mrs Smithson’s minimalistic office, he had been incredibly nervous.

“So your name is Hal and you’re 10, right ?” the woman with badly dyed blond hair had asked in a soothing voice.

She was specialized in soul prophecies and used to work with young children, even if some adults consulted her - about troubles with their soulmates, mostly. The job paid well. 

Hal had nodded. Mrs Smithson’s nose was a bit crooked, but she had had a nice smile and he dared to ask something that had been bothering him for a while. 

“You’re really a witch ?” he had asked, biting his thumb.

The middle-aged woman had laughed frankly.

“Oh no, my boy. I am as human as you are, I just happen to see things other mortals don’t. What do you say ? Do you want to know more about your soulmate ?” she asked in a conspiratorial tone than ten years old loved. 

Hal had nodded enthusiastically. His older brother kept gloating about the lines the woman had recited to him a couple of years ago. Something about bright flowers and doves and yada yada yada. 

Hal was glad that Jack hadn’t met his soulmate yet. He heard enough about her as it was. He felt relieved that next time he’ll be the one bragging about how his soulmate was perfect and his prophecy nearly said so.

He looked at the witch - no, scratch that, the prophetess, impatiently. She had been looking at him for a long moment - it was apparently all it took to find a prophecy but only a few could master the art of extracting and deciphering them. She looked a bit uneasy, now.

“Is it done ?” Hal asked after another minute passed. 

His mother had told him it would be quick. The soothsayer’s lips tightened but she kept smiling. 

“Um, yes. I am not sure - maybe I should ask your parents-” she started saying but he stopped her.

“Can I hear it ?” he asked.

He didn’t want his parents to hear it before him. It was his, after all. 

“It is your right.” she nodded, and the little boy waited for more.

She wasn’t saying anything, though.

“Please, Mrs Smithson.” Hal added thoughtfully.

Maybe she didn’t like it when children weren’t polite and it had been what she had been waiting for. She cleared her throat. 

“Wrapped in shadows, he will arise,  
He will protect and terrorize.”

It was a short prophecy, one of the shortest he had ever heard, and Hal had asked for more but the soothsayer had denied him. Years later, Hal would wonder if the compassionate woman had kept a part of it from him to spare him a bit.

That infamous day, Hal had exited the soothsayer’s office with a lollipop in one hand and a folded paper he was crushing in his other hand, buried in his jeans’ pocket. 

He tried to clutch at straws, to remember the good words, anything positive, comforting. Not that there were many in these few words. But protect. Protecting was a good thing. It had to account for something. His soulmate didn’t have to be a bad person.

Well, he probably wasn’t for now, if he was about Hal’s age. Nobody did terrible things at 10, and anyway your prophecy was always about who your soulmate would be when you would meet them, not when the prophecy was delivered. 

Something else was bothering him. It was the “he” part. The soothsayer had clearly said it, which was something that had made Hal about as uncomfortable as the dark theme surrounding his soulmate.  
Hal had seen couples composed of two men before and hadn’t minded much, but he was of the opinion that his family might not agree with that.

He didn’t say his words to his parents, just invented some. Something about honey scented fields and birds and songs. “I think she’ll be a musician.” he had said, insisting on the “she” part.  
And yet, despite everything, Hal felt the desire to know his ill-fated soulmate. 

Bruce’s appointment to Gotham’s most praised soothsayer was cancelled due to his parents’ funeral. Bruce’s parents had been soulmates, and Alfred had let him be for some time before asking the boy about taking a new appointment after he turned 12. 

Bruce had refused categorically. Alfred, who had the surprise to find out that he didn’t have a soulmate when he had gone to the local soothsayer when he was much younger, didn’t insist. 

The prophecy wasn’t even a guarantee to meet your soulmate when you actually had one and were offered a prophecy, it only gave you a lead, sometimes so frail that you couldn’t really consider it like it. 

Alfred only renewed his offer to book Bruce an appointment to the soothsayer once, when he became an adult. It wasn’t well received. 

Bruce was five years older when he reconsidered the idea, wondering if his soulmate could be in danger because of him. It depended on what the prophecy about him said, of course. 

But if it was obvious that it was Batman it mentioned and an unsuspecting kid had shared his prophecy with all his classmates in middle school as it was traditional to do - some met their soulmates here -, it wouldn’t be long before word was out in Gotham’s streets that Batman had a soulmate indeed, and that it was this poor person.

Who would probably end up kidnapped if not dead sooner than they should have been. Maybe it would be better if Bruce was aware of their identity. Not that he could share his with them. That would do nothing to lessen the danger to them, and only increase it for him.

He didn’t need a soulmate and could only hope his soulmate felt the same way. If he was lucky, he didn’t even have one, like Alfred. 

It was all very convenient, but Bruce never shrugged from his responsibilities. He started looking into discreet, reliable soothsayers.

He had talked to Clark about it, which meant a JL meeting was called not long after that, where the subject was basically “your soulmate and what to do with them” (which had made more than one superhero smile). Bruce had taken a deep breath and tried not to strangle the Kryptonian. He was just trying to help Bruce to navigate this. How kind of him.

“We don’t have soothsayers in the team for now, which means we should be careful with the ones we go to.” Clark was saying.

The “we” was only a figure of speech, since Kryptonians didn’t have soulmates.

“Just one question, though. Do we really have to discuss this since most people get their soul prophecy in their pre-teen years ? It’s not like we enrolled eight years old in the League.” Green Arrow stated. 

Nobody said it outright, but a few others assented. The topic had already raised some eyebrows. 

Bruce tried not to think of Robin, who wasn’t eight but not much older. 

“What about members who had not found their soulmates and may wish for another point of view, someone who could deliver another prophecy ?” Diana suggested, but she had her eyes on Bruce, which meant Clark couldn’t shut up. 

Some people spent their time going from a soothsayer to another, hoping for more clues. They wasted their life chasing after the unknown, according to Bruce. It was rather pitiful.

Clark and Diana were lucky, only humans had soulmates. It didn’t mean Bruce was volunteering to be their pet project and he should have a talk with those two soon. Maybe punctuated by an insidious remark or two about interpersonal relationships in the League. 

After this unproductive and humiliating meeting - it was for occasions like those that Bruce was glad he was wearing a cowl for League’s business - , Bruce had stayed in the meeting room, checking some files on potential new members.

Unfortunately, Hal and Barry had decided to continue the conversation they were having here. Barry looked extremely animated and they talked too loud for Bruce’s taste. He was hoping that his presence would deter them and that they would go soon. It was in vain. 

“I mean, I’ve never thought much of the “Look into the right direction” part, but her name is West. What about “colorful Goddess” ? She told me Iris was the Goddess of the rainbow in Greek mythology. That works !”

Iris West. One more background check to run, Bruce registered. He did it for most of his teammates’ acquaintances but kept the information for himself as long as nothing worrying came up. He was quite certain most of his co-workers wouldn’t approve.

“You should ask her out. Maybe tell her this.” Hal was saying.

The lack of enthusiasm in his tone - that Barry was too excited to perceive - made Bruce be more attentive to the conversation.

“You think I should ? I don’t want to creep her out. Have you ever told your lines to a girl you’ve just met ?”

Hal sighed and rubbed his temple in a familiar gesture. Embarrassed, Bruce concluded. He wasn’t eager to answer Barry’s question, or maybe didn’t know how. 

“Not exactly, but that’s a bit different for me.”

Did he mean he didn’t have a soulmate ? Maybe Bruce needed to update his file. 

“What do you mean ?” Barry asked, and the eventually had probably not crossed his mind.

It was rare not to have a soulmate. 

“Well, first, you don’t try it on women when your soul prophecy is about a man. I don’t think they would like it.” Hal said, his eyes fixated on Barry’s.

Which widened comically before meeting Bruce’s. 

“Hal, you realize -” Barry hissed, before being interrupted by some unbothered hand gesture Hal made.

“That I just came out to you and that B is still there lurking in the shadows ? Yes. It’s fine. None of you seemed bothered.” he said, looking at Bruce briefly.

Bruce wondered if Hal knew he wasn’t only attracted to women. Newspapers and tabloids had speculated for years about it. Bruce picked his male lovers carefully but he had no doubt people working so close to him could figure it out if they paid attention. 

“I am not lurking anywhere, but feel free to have your conversation elsewhere if I bother you. As for who you’d rather fuck or romance, I couldn’t care less.” 

Hal just laughed and slouched some more into his seat. 

“Not going to happen. This room has the most comfortable seats. So, yes Barry, I don’t use my lines on women.”

“On men, then ?” Barry asked hopefully, probably still trying to determine whether it was polite or not to share your lines with almost strangers.

Bruce appreciated that they hadn’t asked for his opinion, but would have liked them gone very much. There was a pause, during which Bruce hoped at least one of them had fallen asleep. 

“No. I had never told them to anyone.” Hal ended up saying rather quietly. 

“Do you know whom they are about ? Are they… not good news ?” Barry asked gently.  
Bruce tried his best to make it look like he wasn’t attentively listening. If Hal’s soulmate was shady, the League had to look into it and the man would probably hate it.

“You can put it that way. And that’s not like the prophecy said they were a serial murderer. Now that I am older and working with the League, I understand that the line between good and bad is pretty thin and that maybe - maybe they’re not that bad. Anyway, you should go and plan your date with Iris. I am sure it will work out.” 

“Thanks, man.” Barry said, patting his shoulder before standing up. “I am sure your soulmate is not pure evil. I mean, with you as a soulmate, how could he be ? You coming ?”

Hal shook his head negatively, smiling. 

“No, thanks. I am waiting for a call from the Corps. ‘Night, Barry.” 

Barry said goodbye to them both and left walking with a spring in his step. Hal’s gaze was riveted on him. 

“You shouldn’t let it affect you.” Bruce’s voice resonated around them but Hal was too accustomed to Bruce’s unexpected remarks to jump. 

The Green Lantern looked at his teammate, his eyes narrowing. 

“Sorry ?” 

There was a threat in his voice that Bruce either wasn’t aware of or ignored completely. Hal couldn’t tell which option was worse. 

“You shouldn’t let the fact that Barry had probably met his soulmate and that she seemed to be a lovely woman affect you. We both know you’re not expecting the Corps to call you.” Bruce said levelly. 

Hal counted to twenty in his head, eyes closed. With the years, the amount of counting he did before responding to Bruce had only increased. The man didn’t even seem to mind the pauses. 

Hal leaned back on his seat and crossed his fingers behind his head. 

“I knew it was what you meant, I just couldn’t believe you had the gall to comment on this. And excuse me if I am not taking advice on how to handle emotions from you. The prophecy they got probably made your soulmate cry.” 

Bruce’s jaw tightened and Hal noticed. Maybe he should have counted to thirty. 

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. It was really insensitive of me. It’s not like mine is any better, I -”

Hal had stopped talking - an occurrence rare enough to be worrying - and jumped to his feet so fast Bruce had to assess the room for a potential threat before realizing there was none. 

“Jordan ?” 

He was looking at him quizzically, and Jordan was looking at him like it was the first time they had met. Maybe his last mission had been more damaging than Bruce had previously thought. He wondered his odds to convince Hal to let him run some scans in the med-bay. 

“Fuck.” Hal gasped like he had just woken up from some very realistic dream. 

Bruce didn’t say anything, waiting for an explanation. 

“Bruce, who’s your soulmate ?” Hal asked. 

Bruce would have startled if he hadn’t trained his body so well. He wasn’t expecting this question - maybe earlier, but not now - and Hal’s voice was full of - urgency, maybe ? He looked a bit frazzled. 

“You should sit down. Why are you asking ?” 

Hal sat. Well, half-sat, half-leaned. On the table, to Bruce’s annoyment - probably on purpose. 

“I’ll explain, but please answer me.” he said, joining his hands in the mockery of a prayer. 

Hal could really be overdramatic. 

“I don’t know.” Bruce answered. 

He was still waiting for Hal to explain himself, but it looked like he was going to wait for a long time. 

“Okay. Okay, fine. Could you tell me your words ?” Hal asked, looking at him expectantly.

“No.” 

The answer had been sharp and direct, and Hal couldn’t tell he was really surprised. 

“Come on, I can tell you mine first if it makes you more comfortable.”

It really sounded like primary school, didn’t it ? Bruce’s judgemental glare seemed to confirm it. 

“I still couldn’t tell you. I don’t know what my prophecy is.” Bruce developed. 

Hal blinked. Once, twice, trying to understand. It happened that a 15 years old had not asked to know, but Bruce was at least twice that age, and it was not that common when you were in your thirties. 

“You’re serious ?” he asked, wondering if Bruce was just playing with him. 

“Do I look like I am not ? What’s all this about ?” 

Bruce sounded a bit annoyed, and maybe tired so Hal decided to put an end to the inquiries. 

“Wrapped in shadows, he will arise,  
He will protect and terrorize.” he recited dutifully.

Bruce had taken his cowl off at some point of the conversation - probably because they were talking of personal things instead of professional ones. Hal hadn’t noticed until now but it allowed him to see Bruce’s eyes widen slightly. For Batman, it was an average person’s surprised squeal.

“Is it your prophecy ?” he asked, and his voice was his businessman’s one.

Hal should really stop categorizing Bruce’s different tones but the man had a really impressive range. It was like collecting cards or something. Sometimes you got the same tones and expressions, but if you were lucky you acceded to a whole new variety. 

Hal knew very well Bruce’s frustrated face, but he had had a glimpse at Bruce’s honest smile just the other day. What were the odds for a shiny Pokemon ? They were probably the same.

“Which prophecy ? Of course not, it’s from my emo phase poetry in high school. I thought you’d like it.” 

Bruce rolled his eyes at him. Hal was so used to it that he didn’t mention it. He should be proud, he wasn’t sure Bruce rolled his eyes that much at anyone else. 

“It’s short.” Bruce observed. 

Hal was well aware of the fact and just shrugged. 

“Well, the soothsayer who predicted this wasn’t too thrilled to announce to a bright eyed child that his soulmate will turn out to be terrifying, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had only told me the nicer part.”

He was looking at Bruce expectantly. Somehow he had moved without realizing because he was right into Bruce’s space. He could have backed away but it was quite thrilling. Hal wondered if it was what the fly felt before realizing it had been caught into the spider’s web. 

“You think I am your soulmate.” Bruce said calmly.

He didn’t feel calm but could look the part well enough. Hal nodded. 

“You could be.”

Bruce leaned forward a bit and Hal felt compelled to back away a little. Did bats play with their prey like cats ? Or did Bruce learned those stupid power plays from Catwoman ?

“You don’t know that for certain.” Bruce said, and it sounded almost gentle. 

Hal looked at his feet and then at Bruce again, the tension between them breaking.

“You can’t blame me for rather having you for a soulmate than some criminal.” 

Bruce looked surprised. 

“You wouldn’t mind having me for a soulmate ?”

Well, Hal could see where that was coming from. They had a rocky start, and it wasn’t unusual for them to have a fight in League meetings. 

“As I said, I could have done far worse, considering my words. Sure, you’re not Superman, but I think he is taken anyway and I won’t fight an Amazonian princess for him.” Hal chuckled nervously. 

Bruce stood so they were at eye level, making Hal focus on him instead of on anything else in the room. 

“Hal. Calm down. We may not be soulmates.” he said. 

Hal nodded thoughtfully. He knew this, of course. They stood silently, watching each other, for a few seconds.

“You don’t want us to be.” Hal realized, and his tone sounded more hurt than he would have liked.

Bruce winced. It wasn’t his intention to hurt Hal, but truth be told, it wouldn’t be the first - or even tenth - time he had hurt someone involuntarily. 

“I - I’ve never considered it. I didn’t think my soulmate would be a member of the League.” 

“But it would be convenient.” Hal pointed out. 

“Convenient doesn’t mean true.” Bruce insisted.

Hal sighed and played with the ring on his finger.

“Do you really mind ? You could do worse.” he said, a hand on his hip and his head tilted a little bit.

Hal knew how to look his best. 

“I am aware of the fact.” Bruce replied, amusement piercing in his tone. 

Hal smiled sweetly and Bruce braced himself. It wasn’t easy to resist Hal when he smiled that way. 

“Yeah ? They say it’s different when the person you kiss is your soulmate.” he half-whispered, getting slightly closer. 

“Do they really say that ?” Bruce asked, tilting his head defiantly.

Hal just kissed him and Bruce didn’t hesitate to kiss him back. 

He wasn’t certain it was the soulmates thing, but it did feel different than all the kissing he had done before. 

Maybe they weren’t soulmates. Maybe they were. Bruce never went to his soothsayer’s appointment. None of them wanted to know for certain. In the end, it didn’t matter that much.


End file.
